Arcology

[W.T.]

Sorry guys, found out that I'm not going to have much access to Wi-Fi until the 28th, so the Final Challenge will begin then and run for four days. I know this means I have to retract one of my earlier statements.

On the plus side, this gives you a couple days to enjoy your holidays without having to read walls of text.

You are permitted and encouraged to continue voting on 98F during the next couple of days. See you on Friday.

[destroyer39]

Greatest: Rayquaza
Greatest: Flygon

[{(•)___(•)}]

Ugh. I missed a couple rounds. I had Doubloonies and Celestial Shards. If only I had internet access, Whismur would still be here

Greatest: Rayquaza
Greatest: Flygon

[W.T.]

Update will be tomorrow, in fact. Anyone want to break the tie in the first category?

[W.T.]

Eliminations on 98F


We’re sad to see you go, Rayquaza.
You’re fast and deadly as a laser.
I know the Arco Boss pays a
Lot for your third place.

Good job to you, Serperior.
And no one could be cheerier
When kicked from the interior
Of this much-hallowed space.

...I’m too tired for this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NINETY-NINTH FLOOR...?
So this is it. The big kahuna. The final showdown. The last confrontation. Mano a mano. Dragón a dragón. Call it what you will, this one is for all the marbles. One lucky winner will spend the rest of its life inside a lavishly furnished palace fit for the ruler of the known Pokémon universe. The other will be banished to a frightfully less spiffy apartment somewhere in the Ultimate Zone’s ultimateness-free area. And who will come up on top? The choice is yours.

Rayquaza and Serperior having departed with dignity, a “ding,” the last one you’re going to hear, resounds across the atrium, and the furnishings vibrate as three ladders slide into view. They’re literally the best ladders you’ve ever seen, for once again, they are jewel-encrusted, but this time some of the jewels are purple. With almighty bursts of their dragon wings, Haxorus and Flygon are upon the side ladders, leaving the middle one for your party. You climb upward faster than usual, anxious to find out what lies above and beyond this roof.

Only to find that you cannot reach the roof. You scramble up rungs and more rungs, but regardless of how many you ascend, you seem to get no higher, no closer to your destination. Your mind is totally blank. What’s going on? Why can’t you find the strength to proceed?

“SEREBII members! You have done well on your epic quest,” a voice announces, just as you’re all about to give up. “But one last challenge awaits you.”

Oh, for Arceus’ sake… Not more Glitches. Not now. But then you recognize the voice as somebody safe. It’s a human voice. It’s the voice of that nameless guy who always talked on the loudspeaker and announced the Sky Keys. This realization is comforting. You thought that loose end would never be tied up.

“My name is Bernie.”

Again, reassuring.

“The last barrier is a purely mental one, an examination of your knowledge of this remarkable building and all the skulduggery that has occurred within and outside its walls. It is a test passed down through the ages at the conclusion of each and every Face-Off. It is the Sky Quiz.

“For every correct answer, your spirit will grow stronger for the final confrontation that awaits in the room above. Please heed my questions, and answer them right. Gather all the willpower you can, and go forth. I shall now begin the examination.

“Just to clarify: For the purposes of this quiz, a round refers to any single group of Pokémon on a floor, from which one is eliminated. For instance, the battle between Rayquaza and Haxorus, just a minute ago, was a round. Good luck. May the best… uh… rememberer win! Hello? Is this thing on?”

The loudspeaker fizzles out, but Bernie’s voice speaks subliminally into your head and presents you with a set of questions.

1. What is the name of the island on which the Arcology is located?

2. What is the name of the large hotel occupying the 24F-29F area of the building?

3. Who received the “Underdog” award from Arceus on 90F?

4. What is the term for a round in which the Pokémon with the most (rather than fewest) votes is eliminated?

5. On 36F, a rich Pokémon was seen carrying a cake. What type of Berry did it contain?

6. Two unique, absurd categories were featured on 78F. What were they?

7. On 51F, what two rival cliques make up and band together?

8. How many Pokémon were introduced before you reached 1F?

9. Name four stores in the Neo Mall.

10. During the battle against Missingno. on B9F, Darkrai was introduced. Who was eliminated in Darkrai’s round?

11. Name two items on sale inside vending machines anywhere in the Arcology.

12. What was the category (i.e., “Most popular,” “Least bored,” etc.) for rounds featuring members of the EV Army?


This is more a scavenger hunt than an actual quiz. The first four questions are worth 1 Sky Point (SP) each, the next four 2 SP and the final four 3 SP. There will be two more quizzes, and the points of each individual voter will be tallied up at the end. Each SP allows them to vote once, and they can give all their points to Haxorus, all of them to Flygon or any proportion in between.

Please PM me your answers. Any questions? Post 'em here. Good luck.

[W.T.]

13. What floor was completely closed due to its having been flooded with lethal poison?

14. Of all second-stage starters (Ivysaur, Charmeleon, Wartortle, etc.), which was eliminated (for the final time) last?

15. Which of the Final Tests was a test of loyalty involving a battle between two dragons?

16. What was the category for the round in which Celebi was eliminated?

17. On what floor was the FiddleStick Bar & Grill located?

18. Who was the first legendary member of the Lockdown Squad to be introduced?

19. Who was the first legendary to be introduced? (Hint: Not the same as the previous answer. It was somewhere between 40F and 50F.)

20. What floor was entitled “Up Until the Flood”?

21. What type of room did Cranidos and Shieldon meet inside?

22. At the moment of your arrival in the Hotel DeNewman, what time was it?

23. Burmy was defeated in a single battle against whom?

24. Besides “Kakuna Rattata,” name one other movie that was playing in the Arcology.

The first four answers in today’s post will net you 4 Sky Points (SP) each, the next four 5 SP, and the final four 6 SP. Each collected SP allows you one vote in the grand finale, but your SP totals won’t be announced until two days from now when the quiz is finished. You are welcome to review and keep sending in answers to yesterday’s questions, too.

May the best Face-Offer win.

[AuraKingVII]

Question: Is it okay to wait for all the questions to be revealed then send the all the answers at once?

[destroyer39]

no habla espanol dude... or what ever language your talking in.

[W.T.]

@AuraKingVII: Yes indeed, that’s acceptable.

@Anyone who might be completely lost: The Sky Quiz is a final, interactive challenge to round out this nail-biting Face-Off adventure. It consists of 36 questions (24 of which have already been posted; the final 12 are below). Each question, if answered correctly, will give you a specified number of Sky Points (SP). These are very important because on 99F – the last Face-Off round, between Haxorus and Flygon, to determine the overall champion – each SP gives you a vote. If you earn 50 SP, you can distribute 40 votes to Haxorus and 10 votes to Flygon, for instance. Whoever gets the most votes, overall, from all voters, will be declared the Supreme Arconaut of Multitudinous… something-or-other… and win this season of Arcology.

Without further ado, on to the final set of questions.

25. What was the category (Most popular, Least lazy, etc.) for the first etov ever seen in this Face-Off?

26. Of Charmander, Charmeleon and Charizard, which remained in the Face-Off the longest (based on number of floors from entry to elimination)?

27. A certain portal was unlocked by the password SONYA113. What treasure was inside this portal?

28. At one point in the adventure, a room was described as being large enough to accommodate the entire tower ten times over. What floor was this room located on?

29. There was only one car in the Arcology. What floor was it seen on?

30. How many people voted in the round in which Mudkip was eliminated?

31. The Azure Flute was important in this Face-Off’s plot. On what two floors did the Azure Flute appear? (You must identify both.)

32. Who were the first two Pokémon from the same evolutionary line to have been eliminated on the same floor? (Hint: They were somewhere between 50F and 60F.)

33. Name the four glitch Pokémon seen in this adventure.

34. Of all Pokémon with a base stat total of 505, which was introduced first?

35. Who were the first two Pokémon from the same evolutionary line to have been present (and not necessarily eliminated) on the same floor?

36. What is the original source of the sequence of names used in the passwords (DEVIN, GORO, SONYA, etc.)?

You can keep on quizzin’ one more time, but this is the last call. And the most important call, to boot. The first four questions on tonight’s extravaganza are worth 7 Sky Points (SP) each, the next four 8 SP, the next three 9 SP, and the final question, if you dared to undertake it and were to succeed, would make you a whopping 15 SP richer. Go back up the page if you want to review the previous two sections of the Sky Quiz. You’re still welcome to PM me your answers for those sections and get full Sky Points for them.

Good luck!

EDIT EDIT: The quiz deadline has passed, and only one person has sent in answers. To make it unfair, however, everybody -- including those who didn't fill it out -- will receive 25 votes in the Face-Off's final round, which will be up around 6:00 8:00 we'll see... AM, Pago Pago time, tomorrow (January 4, 2012) after I tabulate the quiz results. The Supreme Arconaut will be declared on January 5th. And then, at last, you'll be able to get on with your life! Huzzah!

Also, could somebody please post something (anything) here so I don't have to double post again?

[W.T.]

SKY QUIZ RESULTS
The results are in! Oh, wait, no. More accurately, the result is in. Singular.

Congratulations to AuraKingVII, who, as the only person to fill out the Sky Quiz, will receive a clear edge in the final round. And a very good job this Face-Offer did, too, answering EVERY question... including the brutally Google-requiring final conundrum. (There was only one wrong answer; that was to the question about the first legendary from the Lockdown Squad. Regirock appeared before Uxie.)

A.K.VII will thus receive 181 Sky Points from a maximum of 186. Huzzah! (Everyone else will get 10, if they want to join the Grand Finale too.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NINETY-NINTH FLOOR
Your bags packed, your mind set, the ear-splitting feedback from Bernie's loudspeaker still echoing in your ears, you continue your climb up the very last ladder as the wall of mental energy fades away. Three hours from now, you'll be on your way back home to your apartment, unpacking RageCandyBar wrappers, reflecting on memories of your odyssey, and hoping to Arceus that your landlord doesn't evict you for non-payment of your electrical bill again.

But first... the grand finale. You make it to the top of the ladder, climb through a rather thick ceiling/floor and look upward.

A Very Definitely Final Dungeon (not original... duh) vibe permeates this place, judging from those high, forbidding slate walls lit by flickering torch flames. The tortuous corridors of this place foreshadow the prospect of an impending ultimate encounter, and it takes all your determination to push forward. Yet... somehow... you're able to do it. Apparently, that corny old quiz gave you a fascinating spiritual enlightenment.

Before you can take a breath or think of any more big words to describe your situation, you spy a warm light and suspect that it is time for the last confrontation. Your suspicions are not confirmed, however, until you turn to your left and find yourself staring into a room with a modestly large bed, modest food on the table and modestly few angry landlords knocking at its door. Would actually be a pretty nice place to live if you didn't have to walk through a medieval dungeon on your way to work every morning. You back away and can't suppress a laugh as you read the sign on its door:
Welcome, Runner-Up
to the Supreme Arconaut.
Better Luck Next Time.

Turning your head directly in front of you, you reach the end of your journey. It's not bad, actually, although you feel it's anticlimactic after so many other Final things have gone on here.

You stand on a round walkway in a domed chamber, the walls again lined with a circle of torches. Looking to your left, over the inner railing of the walkway, you can't make out much but blackness. Soon, however, a tiny speck of powerful light appears at the bottom of what you now see to be a deep pit. Despite its small size, it permits you to see far down into the depths. And then it begins to rise from those depths, growing larger and larger, closer and closer. In no time at all, the orb has broken the surface of the pit and is casting blinding rays into the gloom around you. It looks like some kind of teleporter. Or black hole. But a white hole, if you will. Or an every-other-colour hole, for that matter. Its patterns are always changing.

Then there is a blood-curdling scream. Two, actually. And they're definitely ear-splitting, not blood-curdling -- the latter implies a sinister connotation. You correct yourself as soon as you see whom they have come from. Ceremonial gates have just swung open in the chamber's other walls, and out of them, tired yet raring to go, emerge Haxorus and Flygon. They look around and exchange an honourary wing-shake... then the puny crew of humans draw back in fear as they surge, without warning, toward the pit.

BONGGGGGG!
The sound of a massive bell, somewhere in the ceiling, pierces the groaning silence. You knew this place would be too important for just a simple "ding." Wait... why is the silence groaning? It's very incongruous. Oh, maybe it's because of that.

Glancing once more into the pit at the centre of the room, you watch a two-tonne stone cannon rise from the abyss, completely filling the space in front of you. Its surface is rough-hewn. Its top points directly upward, into the spiralling teleportation orb. And a black medallion, inscribed with a pattern of leaves, is deeply set into its side.

You have only a single glimpse of the medallion before the two dragons spot it, and promptly become embroiled in a one-on-one battle the likes of which you've never before envisaged or even dreamed of. (Except on the Subway, of course, where that jazz happens every ten minutes.)

So... who's the greatest now?

Greatest:

AuraKingVII, having completed the Sky Quiz, receives 181 votes in this final confrontation. Anyone else who wishes to play receives 10 votes. You may distribute your votes between Haxorus and Flygon however you wish. Your voting declarations should look something like this:
Haxorus: 5
Flygon: 5

Are you ready? And I mean REALLY ready? We will soon know the identity of the Supreme Arconaut, he or she who will, for the next several centuries, rule Arcology Island with an iron fist and receive countless other benefits, including a free supply of waffles for life. It took seven months to get here. This is the culmination of a Face-Off design experiment of hopefully wildly successful proportions.

Whenever you're all set for game, set and match... Vote now.

[destroyer39]

Can i put all my votes on 1 pokemon? If so:
Haxorus: 10
Flygon: 0

if not then:
Haxorus: 5
Flygon: 5

[W.T.]

Can i put all my votes on 1 pokemon? If so:
Haxorus: 10
Flygon: 0

Yep, that's perfectly fine.

[AuraKingVII]

Hahaha, I was that close from a perfect quiz! Pity we didn't get more people doing this, it's a pretty sweet "strolling down the memory lane" event!

On one hand I want this to be a closer, more unpredictable fight, but on the other hand I really want to secure the place of my preferred candidate... Oh, the agony of choice!

: 75
: 106

[jakovu]

Haxorus: 10
Flygon: 0

[destroyer39]

come on just 20 more for haxorus!!!!

[W.T.]

LAST DAY! Winner to be announced within 24 hours!

[{(•)___(•)}]

10 points for Flygon!

[shy_taillow]

Flygon: 10
Haxorus: 0

[W.T.]

Eliminations on 99F
Do you honestly think we’d give away the winner up here? Scroll down to seek out the names of the victor and the vanquished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ONE-HUNDREDTH FLOOR
For a single moment, everything remains stock-still. The ring of SEREBII members stands transfixed at the edges of the last chamber. The Axe Jaw and Mystic Pokémon, involved in a catastrophic showdown, hold back ever so slightly on their final blows. Even the rapidly revolving White Hole at the top of the room, the portal that leads the way to the highest destination, ceases to spin.

Then, with a decisive stroke, a green, kite-shaped wing delivers an uppercut to the crimson jaw of the adversary; at the same moment, Haxorus delivers a sharp, raking chop with its claws. Possibly before either of the dragons have realized it, you see the thing escape. The ancient medallion is tossed high into the domed space, claimed by no one in particular. Higher and higher it sails, in a steep, gravity-defying arc… it reaches the top of the Ultimate dome… it hits the White Hole…

A blinding green flash, eerily similar to the ones you’d seen while battling the Glitches, shatters the air, distracting everyone for the space of a second. When the air clears, the medallion is glowing bright white with a force unknown to even legendaries. Slowly but surely, it descends from its dome and begins to orbit the outside of the room, just inside the ring of watchful observers, the inscribed “100F” on its reverse side now radiating to the entire chamber. Haxorus and Flygon make feeble grabs at the artifact, to no avail.

Another circuit begins; the medallion retreats upward, toward its natural home, and the dragons spring to action simultaneously, struggling both to hover upward and to halt the other’s progress. The action is over as quickly as it begins, however, for Haxorus is struggling under its own weight and clumsiness as the medallion soars ever higher.

With one mighty sweep, Flygon has knocked it downward and backward upon the cannon and seized the greatest treasure. Leaving all others behind, it drifts into the light, gloating as it waves, symbolically, down at all those who are now its subjects. Your hunch is correct. I guess this place didn’t teach anyone a darn thing about morals after all.

You are blinded by a final flash; the next time you turn your head, Haxorus remains, but the White Hole is gone.

FLYGON HAS BEEN DECLARED THE SUPREME ARCONAUT AND WILL HEREBY BE ENTITLED TO FREE HABITATION IN A LUXURY APARTMENT, AS WELL AS ALL THE FOOD, DRINKS, TRAVEL, FURNITURE, CLOTHES, HEALTH CARE, WING TREATMENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS OTHER LUXURIES IT WANTS NOW OR COULD POSSIBLY DREAM UP FOR THE REMAINDER OF ITS NATURAL LIFE!!!

AND YES, FLYGON ICONS ARE PERFECTLY LEGITIMATE BORDERS IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

Well, that was definitely at least mildly wildly successful. Can we have a round of applause (virtual or physical) for our Supreme Arconaut, Flygon… and commiserations for Haxorus, too? Thanks a million for the support of all those who have voted on here during the past seven months – and, indeed, of the entire Face-Off community, the entire Games Forum community, the entire Serebiiforums community, and… heck, just thanks to everyone.

An Epilogue will be posted, probably on Wednesday or Thursday. Stay tuned.

[destroyer39]

*sigh* well not the one I hoped would win but well played Flygon. Congratulations to you.